Onondaga County residents recently voted to unify jails under County Sheriff Gene Conway in a referendum. The Jamesville Correctional Center was previously under control of County Executive Joanie Mahoney.

The move was opposed and speculated by local representatives who questioned the unification’s effect on current correctional officers’ jobs, but proposed benefits claimed it would save money and boost efficiency.

County legislator Chris Ryan, of the 8th District, initially opposed the unification but said he changed his mind after learning all the details about what it would do.

In short, he explained, the unification will bring together two units which currently operate separately — the correctional facility in Jamesville and the Onondaga County Justice Center in downtown Syracuse, which is currently operated by the sheriff.

“The unification gives the authority to the county sheriff … who then has jurisdiction over both facilities now,” Ryan said.

Brian May, a county legislator for the 1st District, added that many things — including departments, employees and processes — will remain the same, and that the jails themselves are not being unified.

“The only unification … is the management component,” May said. “What has historically been managed separately — the Justice Center being managed by the Sheriff’s department, Jamesville penitentiary being managed by administration of Onondaga County … is now all going to be under the umbrella of the sheriffs.”

As far as the average Onondaga County resident, Ryan said they won’t see a change in their day-to-day lives. He said he wasn’t surprised citizens voted yes, noting that when he talked to people in the community and explained the unification, most were not opposed.

Ryan said he believes citizens voted yes on unification because they saw it as an “opportunity to see county government run more effectively and efficiently.”

May attributed the win to taxpayers wanting governments to think of better ways to do things and think outside the box.

Benefits of the unification include the opportunity to optimize bed space in each facility, save taxpayer money and utilize resources of county government, May said.

“Our jails are run with 100 percent local dollars,” May emphasized. “We’re trying to make county tax dollars go as far as they can.”

In talks with members of the county’s corrections department and the sheriff’s office, May said he realized the current situation of the two separately-managed facilities caused workers to go back and forth in search of space for inmates.

At one point, he said, there was transferring of inmates between the facilities subject to complications from the regulatory process. May said the hope is that the unification may eliminate this problem.

This kind of unification is not unique to Onondaga County. May said Onondaga County is the last in the New York to consolidate management of two jails.

Constituents worried the unification of correctional centers would put correctional officers’ jobs at risk, but May said jobs are not and never were at risk.

In the future, Ryan said that most operations will continue as normal.

“Both facilities are going to be run a lot like they are today,” he said.

County Executive Joanie Mahoney, in a statement to The Daily Orange, expressed her support for the sheriff to ensure a smooth transition with the Jamesville Correctional Facility.

“I am grateful to the voters of Onondaga County for their vote in support of the Jail referendum,” Mahoney said.

Published on November 28, 2017 at 10:55 pm

Contact Ashleigh: amgarris@syr.edu